Darryl Strawberry had a drug issue-Every site will tell you
Darryl Strawberry did drugs. In case you didn’t know.
I wrote about the 1986 Mets earlier this year because that team is talked about a lot by characters in Mix Tapes and Stolen Tests.
(author note) I lived through that time and remember the series and I even went to the famous or infamous game 6, which I’ll write about later. I remember things but I’m not the kind of person that remembers everyone’s statistics and all the players.
I knew Darryl Strawberry was on the team and one of the big names. That isn’t enough detail to write a blog so I did research. A lot of the sites that I went to all spent more time on Strawberry’s health issues than they did on his accomplishments as a player.
In an annoying goody-goody way, there is a moral to think about this before you get into drugs. The drugs will overtake you and become more of what people see.
BUT
Darryl Strawberry was born on March 12, 1964. He was a first round draft pick for the Mets in 1980 and went to their farm leagues. His major league debut was May 6, 1983. That already is a good start to a career, but he gets better.
In 1986, right fielder Strawberry had 475 at bats in which he hit 27 homeruns, and got 93 RBIs.
In his career he was the starting right fielder in 5 All Star Games. He would later play for The Yankees, The Dodgers and the Giants. Strawberry would appear in 40 post season games where he would have 126 at bats, 9 homeruns, and have a post season batting average of .254.
His overall lifetime batting average was .259. That is consistency.
As a batter in the major leagues, Darryl Strawberry would always be a feared batter and as a fielder. He was an all-star.
In 1986, Strawberry was one of the stars of the Mets. As you can see below, when they need a big hit, Strawberry delivered.
Here's a link to see:
This is the homer that changes the ending of the game and the hopes of the Boston Red Sox victory.
Strawberry retired young and when called upon, he could deliver a hit right up to his last days as a player.
Much of the stories about his drug use always end with the question of what could’ve been if he hadn’t fallen. Because even after he fell, he was still a great performer.
You can read about Strawberry in his memoir, Straw-Finding My Way.
Here's the Amazon link:
I got this information from Wikipedia and Baseball-reference.com